Celebrity Watch

English singer Amy Winehouse claims she couldn’t be cheating on her imprisoned husband because the man she’s been sharing a hotel room with is gay.

Winehouse reportedly has been locked up in a London hotel room with U.S. artist Blake Wood since she left rehab to perform for last weekend’s Grammy Awards. Winehouse’s husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is in jail awaiting trial.

Winehouse, who won five Grammys, reportedly told her family and friends that Wood is gay, which some don’t believe.

“She’s said it’s fine so share a hotel room because he is gay. But he doesn’t seem gay to me I think he’s bisexual. Amy’s husband wouldn’t be happy if he saw how close they are,” one newspaper quoted a pal of Winehouse’s as saying.

‘Dancing with the Stars’ goes gay(ish)

Queer fans of "Dancing with the Stars" will have more than a few reasons to catch next season’s choreographed dance-battle.

The cast has just been announced, and it’s as gay-friendly a round-up as one should be able to expect from a show revolving around ballroom dancing. Queer-adjacent celebrity steppers will include Sean Hayes of "Will and Grace," Oscar winner Marlee Matlin (currently spicing up "The L-Word" by teaching audiences naughty lesbian sex words in American Sign Language), and the ebullient Tony Award-winning Marissa Jaret Winokur, who tore up the stage as the original Tracy Turnblad in Broadway’s "Hairspray."

Now all that needs to happen is for Harvey Fierstein and Elton John to come in and be guest judges.

Johansson and Cruz get naked for Woody

Woody Allen’s probably not the first director you think of when steamy love scenes come to mind.

But since Allen, like 95 percent of the heterosexual male movie-going public, probably entertains vivid fantasies about seeing Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz having girl-on-girl action, it will be interesting to see how he directs that very thing in his upcoming film, "Vicky Christina Barcelona."

Johansson plays a tourist in Spain who winds up having a steamy moment with Cruz in a darkroom; later, the two of them have a three-way with Cruz’s character’s husband, played by Javier Bardem (presumably no longer sporting his "No Country for Old Men" haircut). See them all get their "ole" on when the film hits theaters at the end of the year.

‘American Idol’ and Disney: a marriage in karaoke heaven

What’s so gay about American Idol?

If you’ve ever seen the show, then you know that what’s "not" gay is the more difficult question to answer.

From the sheer overwhelming numbers of visibly gay young men who audition each year in the cattle-call rounds, to the ongoing saga of one of its big success stories continuing to dodge questions about his sexuality, "Idol" is a show for every queer kid who dreams of fame as the ultimate revenge. And now it will be accessible to those kids anytime they go to Walt Disney World, as a competition-based, "Idol"-themed, tie-in attraction gets installed down Florida way.

The miniature karaoke contest will feed into the actual show, with winners getting guaranteed audition slots in the upcoming season. In other words, here’s a way to get around waiting in one of those pesky 10,000-person-strong stadium lines. The attraction is set to open later this year.

Ledger’s family, former fiancee bid him farewell

Heath Ledger’s family, his former fiancee Michelle Williams and Australia’s entertainment elite bade him farewell at a private memorial service Saturday, Feb. 9 in his hometown.

Ledger’s family returned to Perth earlier this week to bury the actor, who died in his Manhattan apartment at age 28 from a prescription drug overdose on Jan. 22. The family attended a memorial service in Los Angeles last weekend.

Several hundred people gathered at a Perth local girls’ school, Penrhos College, for a memorial that mixed personal tributes, modern rock and traditional Aboriginal music.

Williams, who became romantically involved with Ledger while filming the gay romance "Brokeback Mountain," arrived at the service with Ledger’s parents in a six-car motorcade. Wearing black sunglasses and a white dress with black trim, she clutched the arm of Ledger’s older sister Kate.

The 75-minute service kicked off with the performance of a didgeridoo, a traditional Aboriginal wind instrument, performer Levi Islam said.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 15, 2008.